Blind Judgment

" Jesus saw a man who was blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, ' Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'  ' Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus,  'but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.' Having said this, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with His saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. ' Go,' he told him, 'wash in the Pool of Siloam', (this word means 'Sent'). So the man went and washed and came home seeing. Neighbors brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees ( the religious leaders). They turned to the blind man. ' What have you to say about Him? It was your eyes He opened.'  The man replied,  'He is a prophet.'  . . . Then they hurled insults at him. The man answered, ' If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.'  To this they replied, ' You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!'  And they threw him out.  Jesus heard that they had thrown him out and [He] said, ' I have come into this world for judgment, so that the blind will see, and those who see will become blind.'  Some Pharisees heard this and asked, ' What?  Are we blind too?' Jesus said, ' If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim to see, your sin remains.'   [ John 9:1-41.]


At the time of this Biblical passage, people believed that blindness, and other afflictions, were caused by the sin or evil of the parents. Even today, if we experience an awful event in our lives, we say,       " What did I do to deserve this?"

Our human minds often cannot fathom a man blind from birth, or a young girl born with no legs below the knee. We look for someone to blame. Sadly, our eagerness for a rational explanation becomes Judgment of the afflicted.

Jesus is saying here, that if you were born blind, or with a disability, it is not because you or parents sinned.  You are not guilty of any sin that caused your affliction.

Jesus goes on to say, ' But now that you claim to see, your sin remains.'

How often have we met someone who claims to have all the answers, and yet who knows so little? They judge others so readily, because of what they see superficially. But they know nothing about what is in the person's heart.

When I was in graduate school, I was home during the day and there came a knock on my apartment door. I thought it was my neighbor. It was not. It was an assailant, intent on attacking me.

When I called home, my mother challenged me:  ' Well! Why did you open the door? '.  I vowed never to judge anyone again.

But we do judge!!

Around town not too long ago, I saw a woman with an extremely short haircut. I wondered, why would she want such a severe hair style?  It turns out that she is battling cancer. I felt so ashamed to have even thought that.

I once knew a a woman with a pinched look to her face, as if she were perpetually angry. I did not know anyone who liked her. I did not give up on her, though. I talked to her every time I saw her. Eventually, she remarked how nice I was to her.

One day she told me that she felt like she had to act tough, because of the rough neighborhood where she grew up. We ended up a lot closer, and she even offered to pray for my intentions.

Another woman I have known, always had an extremely serious expression. She was almost unapproachable.  I always felt too intimidated to even say hello. Later, I found out that her son was seriously ill. Ultimately, he died. How sad that I was so ready to judge, that I made myself unavailable to comfort her.

Do you judge people who are overweight, as  "lazy and useless"?   Have you ever thought that they may have a hormonal issue, or that they are on essential medications that cause weight gain?

When you see a person of color, do you lock your car door, or grab your handbag a little bit tighter?

You see, Judgment is bullying. And Jesus knew all about this. The blind man was without sin. But those who could physically see were the ones who were truly blind, because they could not see what was of value in the blind beggar's heart. They thought they could see so much. But they saw nothing.

In a recent article in America magazine, ' Jesus and the Bullied', author Brian B. Pinter wrote, " Jesus' ministry was epitomized by His courageous willingness to place a himself among ones most likely to be taunted.  Jesus, by His own example and preaching, empowers us to move beyond being bystanders, to embrace, and shield, through bold but loving action, those suffering under the yoke of bullying and taunting."

How much do YOU dare to really see? How much do you dare to love?

[ Related Postings, " Judge Not", July 18, 2011;  " Love is Kind", February 18, 2011; " Blind Sight", April 2, 2011.]

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